Communist Party of the United States of America

The Communist Party of the United States of America (CPUSA), a Marxist-Leninist party aligned with the Soviet Union, was founded in 1919 in the aftermath of the Russian Revolution by the left wing members of the Socialist Party USA. These split into two groups, with each holding founding conventions in Chicago in September 1919: one which established the Communist Labor Party, and a second which established the Communist Party of America. In a 1920 Joint Unity Convention, a minority faction of the Communist Party of America merged with the Communist Labor Party to become the United Communist Party. Under the strong recommendation of the Communist International (Comintern), the UCP ultimately joined the remaining members of the Communist Party of America in May 1921. At this point, the Party existed largely in an underground, clandestine manner. In December 1921, it formed the Workers Party of America to serve as its legal arm with the purpose of securing its right to a legal and open existence; the WPA in 1922 became the Workers (Communist) Party of America, the recognized U.S. affiliate of the Comintern. The Party established its newspaper, the Daily Worker, in 1924 as a means to communicate with membership and a larger left wing audience about the Party's policies and positions on a wide range of current events, with an emphasis on labor issues and social justice. By 1927, the Party had moved its headquarters to New York City. In 1929, it officially declared its name as the Communist Party of the United States of America, and had an affiliated youth group, the Young Communist League.

The CPUSA's highest governing body is its National Convention, which meets every few years to decide basic policy questions. The day to day leadership of the party is directed by about a dozen members of the Political Bureau or Political Committee and members from various national commissions. Between conventions, policy is set by a National Committee that consists of full time cadre, leading activists, public notables, and party officers. Between National Committee meetings, policy is set by the Central Committee. Due to a decline in Party membership, the Central and National Committees and their functions were merged into one body during the late 1980s; this body is now called the National Committee. At the regional level, the Party is divided into districts, which may be comprised of several states. Each district is made up of local clubs which form the most basic unit of the Party; in the early days of the Party, clubs were referred to as cells. Clubs are based on place of work (shop club) or on residence (neighborhood club).

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